Tuesday, 10 April 2012

PUSHED FOR ANSWERS: Len Wanner

For the last few years Scotland's crime writers have been mercilessly stalked.

The perp, who dresses in natty leather shorts and handle-bar mustache, allegedly, is known as Len Wanner - a German Irishman with enough time on his hands to be a PhD student.

Pulp Pusher tried to speak to the man, but got nowhere. The few useable bits of that conversation are featured below, minus the stuff about Wanner's love of the Swiss-German television series Heidi.

PULP PUSHER: Why is such a nice, sensible fellow as yourself interested in all these crime-ridden minds?

LEN WANNER: Self-preservation. A few years ago I asked myself: “How will I survive the literary revolution?” That’s when I decided to talk to crime writers.

Tell us about your current university studies?

Why? So it’s my fault when people fall asleep on your website? Ah sure, I aim to please: Currently, I’m finishing a PhD on Scottish crime fiction at the University of Edinburgh, charting the genre to and through 30 writers at work today. You’re one of them, so it might be your turn to be nice and sensible.

And a little about your background?

Where to start? Most biographies are boring until you get past the childhood chapters, so I’ll skip mine. All you need to know is that charm school held me down while my hoor’s ear strapped an Irish accent into Lederhosen. You’re picturing that, aren’t you? Pervert.

I believe the title, THE CRIME INTERVIEWS, has a story attached?

Have you been reading my diary, again? Well, as you know, Ken Bruen gave me the title ‘Dead Sharp’ for the paperback edition, which I liked, until it got the book shelved in the fiction section, where it seems more dead than sharp.

‘The Crime Interviews’ is as direct as crime writing, which I like even better, and it’s as close to ‘The Paris Review Interviews’ as copyright allows, which I like best of all. Why? Because the purpose of this collection is to do for crime fiction what The Paris Review Interviews have done for literature at large.

Did your subjects in THE CRIME INTERVIEWS match your expectations of them?

Not until you ordered that piper to play during our interview. Thanks for that. Do you have any idea how much fun I had transcribing your gravelly answers to his dulcet tones? I’ve been reading your books to that Teuchter sound track ever since. Result.

Which writer surprised you the most?

Apart from the piping surprise? Well, I didn’t expect you to give me a tour of Ayr in a lightning blue lady’s race car, nor did I expect to interview you in a shrine to Robert Burns. So the answer is probably ‘you’, though I was surprised by how often Allan Guthrie cries about his favourite movie, how naked Stuart MacBride is when he does his best writing, and how convincingly Craig Robertson bromanticises his indiscretions with black pudding. The ladies only surprised me when they weren’t surprised to hear any of this.

Did you find your interest in the subject had intensified or diminished after the book was finished?

Given the nature of the subject, do you really think the two should be mutually exclusive? I’ve spent so much time trying to get straight answers from your bipolar band of bards, it seems I’ve contracted your Caledonian Antisyzygy. So yes, my interest in Scottish crime fiction has intensified and diminished, and no, I’d rather not say in whose writing I’ve found and lost interest. What I will say is that William McIlvanney’s Strange Loyalties explains my relationship with Scottish crime fiction in more ways than its title.

The route to publication looked swift; was that linked to public appetite for crime fiction?

Did it? Well, I pitched this collection to my publisher long before it was complete and long before he was a publisher, so it doesn’t feel like we took the swift route. We’re both part of the public, though, so it’s a confident ‘yes’ to the second part of your question.

The tag, TARTAN NOIR, has become much derided; what's your opinion of it?

SPOILER ALERT. (That’s the answer to my PhD.)

And one from left-field: I believe Allan Guthrie conducted his interview in ladies underwear?

Do you want it back? Al told me you mailed that cheeky ensemble to him along with a note, saying: “If you don’t wear this, I’ll start drinking again.”

Nevertheless, he did sign you up for BLASTED HEATH...

He did, yes… Wait, so our wrestling session wasn’t filmed for Macbeth, the Musical? Oh, you little minx! Now I’m definitely sending you the bill for that leotard you ruined.

Will there be more works to follow from you soon?

Do you have a lot more questions? I’m a busy man. The Crime Interviews, Volume Two, should be out by the time I’ve answered your questions. It includes interviews with 10 more Scottish crime writers, ranging from the patron saint of Tartan Noir, William McIlvanney, to his legions of disciples, Tony Black, Craig Russell, and Gordon Ferris, all the way to the Marie Magdalene of Scottish letters, Denise Mina.

What about fiction ... fancy a stab?

Is that how you do things on the West Coast? Tempt the innocent to the dark side with a pun? I hope it’s a pun. If it isn’t, I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT HE’S TALKING ABOUT, YOUR HONOUR.

As for the fiction, it seems I’m more comfortable asking questions than answering them, so perhaps I should stick with the interviewing for now. There’s a third volume in the making, so watch this space.

Len Wanner was born in the Alpine Republic of Bavaria in 1985. When his academic and civil service kept interfering with his reading, he left the country, and when University College Dublin, better known as the All-star Republic of Ireland, gave him a degree at the price of an accent, he left that country, too. Now moving in literary circles, he says he is no longer available as racket stringer, holiday animator, or Lederhosen model, though calls will still be charged at standard network rates. Having found his lady friend in the Almost Republic of Scotland, Mr Wanner is finishing a PhD on crime fiction at the University of Edinburgh, and freelancing as translator, interviewer, and editor of the literary journal, www.thecrimeofitall.com

"It's great ... creates a genuinely engaging picture of strangers in a strange land, as well as carving a haunting space between historical reality and timeless fable." -Nick Barlay, Granta 'Best of Young British Novelists'

"In this, his next book, Tony Black demonstrates what a talented and versatile writer he is. His prose is at times spare and at times poetic as Tony delivers up a fascinating and moving novel." -Michael Malone, author of The Guillotine Choice

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Edgy, Glasgow noir

'It's perfect, just perfect ...'

'Black put his heart and soul into this, and the very personal, cathartic nature of the novel makes it a hard one to put down.'

-The Herald

'This is a tale of father and son, man and wife, and how a journey to be reunited can mean rediscovering part of yourself that was buried long ago – and Black tells it perfectly.'

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'Heartfelt and incredibly moving, the sins of the fathers are confronted in a narrative that seethes with raw, blistering emotions.'

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Tales in the raw Scots

New short fiction

Cross-examining crime writers

"For anyone at all interested in crime writers and crime writing - hell, for anyone even vaguely interested in writing and stories - this is an indispensable collection, full of insight and revelation." -Doug Johnstone

Includes the Vachss interview

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'It is very rare that you will encounter such tight prose, strong narrative and pitch perfect dialogue in so many offerings from the one author.'-Crime Squad

OUT NOW IN USA (pbk & e-book)

The Eve News serial

'Black's Gus Dury novels revelled in their hardcore authenticity and this novella is both an update and a reminder of Dury's intoxicating brilliance.'-Daily Record

As seen in Esquire Mag

The Inverness Courier serial

A Scottish festive story

The ultimate noir heist

"R.I.P Robbie Silva might be the most dead-on accurate description of Edinburgh since Trainspotting."-Barry Graham

"Lightning pace, a very nice twist that raises it above the typical crime story, and more heart than I would've expected. What makes this really sing, though, is the writing, which is exceptional."-Dave Zeltserman

"Tony Black is the Tom Waits of Crime Fiction, yes, that good."-Ken Bruen

The Ayrshire Post serial

"This is an elegiac noir for the memory of a place, delivered in a prose as bleakly beautiful as the setting."-The Guardian

"Another masterclass in Tartan Noir. Not a single word is wasted."-Daily Record"This is the Great Scottish Novel, got it all and just a wee shade more. Classic." -Ken Bruen, author of Headstone

"The book is a quick, thrilling read that ticks all the boxes of a truly engaging crime novel."-Scottish Field"Tony Black is clearly the major existentialist crime writer working today and The Storm Without is also his most humanistic book."-You Would Say That, Wouldn't You?"Highly entertaining, fast paced and tightly, almost sparingly, written."-Undiscovered Scotland

"An excellent piece of work ... lean ... pacy ... packs one hell of a punch. Everything you’d want from a Tony Black book is here."-Crime Fiction Lover

"Powerful, focused, and intense ... and then it gets better. Get your money down early on this young man -- he's dead serious and deadly accurate"-Andrew Vachss, author of Hard Candy'Only two books in and Tony Black is already one of my favourite living crime writers. Gutted is simply superb' -Nick Stone, author of Mr Clarinet

“Maybe the best novel I’ve read all year … a stunning piece of work”-Allan Guthrie, author of Bye Bye Baby

'Ripping, gutsy prose and a witty wreck of a protaganist makes this another exceptionally compelling, bright and even original thriller'-Daily Mirror

'If you've yet to discover the hardcore brilliance of Gus Dury, pour yourself a large one and start here' -Daily Record

'If you're a fan of the Ian Rankins, Denise Minas and Irvine Welshes of this world, this is most certainly one for you'-Scotsman

'Tony Black is my favourite British crime writer and Gus Dury the genre's most interesting protagonist. Like his previous books, Loss has the power, style and street swagger that makes most of his contemporaries a little bland by comparison'-Irvine Welsh, author of Trainspotting'Tony Black has written two of the finest crime novels to come out of the UK in the past twenty years and I'm willing to bet that in twenty years, Paying for It and Gutted will be on the top ten list of any crime list. But now comes Loss ... Phew-oh ... It's like having yer ass kicked and yer heart shrived simultaneously. What a privilege to watch a master writer achieve everything you'd hoped for and then some' -Ken Bruen, author of London Boulevard

"Comparisons with Rebus will be obvious. But that would be too easy ... Black has put his defiant, kick-ass stamp on his leading man, creating a character that deftly carries the story through every razor-sharp twist and harrowing turn."-Daily Record“An authentic yet unique voice, Tony Black shows why he is leading the pack in British crime fiction today. His deeply disturbing previous books have been labeled tartan noir, but Murder Mile is in a class of its own”- New York Journal of Books

"In a departure from his brilliant Gus Dury series, Tony Black introduces a new character to the Edinburgh crime scene, DI Rob Brennan. Dury is the new star of Scottish noir, Brennan proves lightning can strike twice."-The Daily Record

'Black renders his nicotine-stained domain in a hardboiled slang that fizzles with vicious verisimilitude'-The Guardian'An accomplished and impressive piece of tartan noir'-The List

'Black's visceral prose makes this a superior offering in a crowded market'-Big Issue

'With comparisons to the likes of Irvine Welsh and William McIlvanney echoing in his ears, Tony Black has become a top-class author in his own right. In his fifth novel, Black once again brings Edinburgh to life in a way few can'-3AM Magazine